Ottoman period

The Ottomans conquered the area in 1614. Although, the Ottoman millet system allowed its subjects extensive self-governance and religious freedom, many Adjarians gradually chose to convert to Islam during the 200 years of Ottoman presence.^[9][10] The nobility converted first.^[11] Adjarians were fully Islamized by the end of the eighteenth century.^[11] This conversion marked a differentiation from the Georgian cultural identity, which strongly identifies as Orthodox Christian.^[9]

Russian Empire

The Ottomans were forced to cede Adjara to the expanding Russian Empire in 1878 under the Treaty of Berlin.^[12] The Berlin Treaty allowed Adjarians to leave for Turkey, keeping a provision of Section 6, article 21 of the Treaty of San Stefano.^[13][12] Many Adjarians emigrated to Turkey.^[13][12] This was followed by an influx of Christians from Kakheti, resulting in a change of demographics.^[13] Orthodox Christian missionaries also started to proselytize in Adjara.^[12] While the Russian authorities supported the Russian Orthodox Church's missionary efforts, they also tried to win the loyalty of Adjarians by building mosques and madrassas and supporting the local Muslim clergy.^[12] As a result, many Adjarians emigrants, called Muhacir, came back to Adjara.^[12]

Soviet rule

After a temporary occupation by Ottoman and British (with the entrance of the British warship HMS Liverpool) troops in 1918–1920, Adjara became part of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1920, and was granted autonomy under the Georgian constitution adopted in February 1921 when the Red Army invaded Georgia.^[14] After a brief military conflict in March 1921, Ankara's government ceded the territory to Georgia under Article VI of Treaty of Kars on the condition that autonomy be provided for the Muslim population, while Turkish commodities were guaranteed free transit through the port of Batumi.^[15][16][17] The Soviets established in 1921 the Adjarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in accord with this clause, thus Adjara remained part of Georgia. Until 1937, it had the name Ajaristan. The autonomous republic was the only autonomous unit in the USSR based solely on religion.^{[lower-alpha 1][18]} However, Stalin's definition of what constituted a nation was based on language. Without their own language, Adjars did not develop a strong sense of national identity, separate from Georgian.^[19] Moreover, the Soviet atheist ideology dampened religious practice.^[16] In the 1920s, the Achars rebelled against the Soviet anti-Islamic activities, as well as against the collectivization reforms.^[16] Still, Soviet authorities never accepted to politicize the term “Muslim Georgian”.^[20] So that, over time, the Acharan population began again to identify with their Georgian ethnic forebears, whose language they spoke, instead of identifying with Turks.^[16]

Independent Georgia

There was a resurgence of the Acharan religious identity during the dissolution of the USSR.^[21] Islamic religious practice became the cultural norm, madrassas reopened and the call to prayer sounded from mosques.^[21] After the Georgian independence, the first president, Georgian nationalist Zviad Gamsakhurdia, had an anti-federal policy that targeted Adjara.^[22] According to his Foreign Minister, Giorgi Khoshtaria, Gamsakhurdia considered that it was just as he saw Adjarians as Christian Georgians polluted by years of Ottoman rule.^[23] Adjarians protested in Batumi in 1991, after Gamsakhurdia announced he would end Adjara's autonomy.^[23] To appease the situation, Gamsakhurdia appointed Aslan Abashidze, from a local powerful family, as Chairman of the Acharan Supreme Soviet.^[23] Abashidze leveraged the ongoing Islamic revival to advance his political goals.^[21] He organized Muslim rallies in Batumi in 1992, demanding political, economic, and cultural autonomy for the Ajar region.^[21][23] Taking advantage of the turmoil caused by the wars with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, he unilaterally took power without formal agreement and started to withhold tax revenue and capture Adjara's considerable wealth.^[21][24] The Head Mufti of Achara, Haji Mahmud Kamashidze, supported Abashidze in his power struggled against the central Georgian government led by Gamsakhurdia.^[25] However, after Abashidze reached his goals, he stopped using the Muslim movement and gradually erased Adjara's cultural characteristics.^[21][26] He built churches, promoted conversion to Christianity and asserted that Adjara wasn't separatist.^[21][26]

Abashidze avoided being dragged into the chaos of the civil war, successfully maintained order in Adjara and made it one of the country's most prosperous regions, while enriching himself thanks to smuggling. The central government in Tbilisi had very little say in what went on in Adjara during the presidency of Eduard Shevardnadze. Elections in Adjara were not free and fair, Abashidze controlled the media and captured customs revenue for his personal enrichment.^[27][28] Even though Shevardnadze often complained about Abashidze's aggressive autonomous strategy, they had good relationships and supported each other when they needed public support.^[27][29]

This changed following the Rose Revolution of 2003 when Shevardnadze was deposed in favour of the reformist opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili, who pledged to restore the country's territorial integrity.^[30] Soon after his inauguration as president in January 2004, Saakashvili took aim at Abashidze with strong anticorruption reforms.^[31][32] In spring 2004, a major crisis in Adjara erupted as the central government sought to reimpose its authority on the region. It led to several encounters between Adjaran paramilitaries and the Georgian army.^[25] However, Saakashvili's ultimata and mass protests against Abashidze's autocratic rule forced the Adjaran leader to resign in May 2004. Facing charges of embezzlement and murder, Abashidze destroyed the bridges between Adjara and the rest of Georgia to delay the advance of Georgian troops in Batumi and then fled to Moscow.^[25]

After Abashidze's ousting, Acharan separatism declined.^[25] Muslims did not support Abashidze during the crisis.^[25] Even Abashidze's former ally, Haji Mahmud Kamashidze, sided with Saakashvili.^[25] Saakashvili wanted Adjara to keep a significant autonomy.^[33] The Turkish government, guarantor of Adjaran autonomy under Article 6 of the Treaty of Kars, also spoke out against calls for Adjarian autonomy dissolution by certain opposition parties.^[34] A new law was therefore introduced to redefine the terms of Adjara's autonomy. Levan Varshalomidze succeeded Abashidze as the chairman of the government.^[35]

In July 2007, the seat of the Georgian Constitutional Court was moved from Tbilisi to Batumi.^[36] In November 2007 Russia ended its two-century military presence in Georgia by withdrawing from the 12th Military Base (the former 145th Motor Rifle Division) in Batumi.^[37]

Turkey still has noticeable economic and religious influence in Adjara.^[38][39][40]

Administrative divisions

Adjara is subdivided into six administrative units:^[42]

Climate

Adjara is well known for its humid climate (especially along the coastal regions) and prolonged rainy weather, although there is plentiful sunshine during the spring and summer months. Adjara receives the highest amounts of precipitation both in Georgia and in the Caucasus. It is also one of the wettest temperate regions in the northern hemisphere. No region along Adjara's coast receives less than 2,200 mm (86.6 in) of precipitation per year. The west-facing (windward) slopes of the Meskheti Range receive upwards of 4,500 mm (177.2 in) of precipitation per year. The coastal lowlands receive most of the precipitation in the form of rain (due to the area's subtropical climate). September and October are usually the wettest months. Batumi's average monthly rainfall for the month of September is 410 mm (16.14 in). The interior parts of Adjara are considerably drier than the coastal mountains and lowlands. Winter usually brings significant snowfall to the higher regions of Adjara, where snowfall often reaches several meters. Average summer temperatures are between 22–24 degrees Celsius in the lowland areas and 17–21 degrees Celsius in the highlands. The highest areas of Adjara have lower temperatures. Average winter temperatures are between 4–6 degrees Celsius along the coast while the interior areas and mountains average around -3–2 degrees Celsius. Some of the highest mountains of Adjara have average winter temperatures of -8–(-7) degrees Celsius.

Ethnic groups

The Adjarians (Ajars) are an ethnographic group of the Georgian people who speak a group of local dialects known collectively as Adjarian. The written language is Georgian. Adjarians have been known as "Muslim Georgians".^[46] They were officially referred as such until the 1926 Soviet census which listed them as "Ajars" and counted 71,000 of them. Later, they were simply classified under a broader category of Georgians as no official Soviet census asked about religion.^[47] In independent Georgia, censuses do not include an "Adjarian" category, nor do they distinguish between ethnic Georgian Muslims and other Muslims, such as Azerbaijanis.^[48]

Ethnic minorities include Laz, Russians, Armenians, Pontic Greeks, and Abkhaz.^[49]

Religion

After Adjara was ceded to the Russian Empire in 1878 under the Treaty of Berlin, Adjarians, who were Muslims, were allowed to leave for Turkey.^[13] This was followed by an influx of Christians from Kakheti, resulting in a change of the religious landscape.^[13]

Although Adjara's political and religious autonomy was guaranteed by the 1921 Treaty of Kars,^[16][15] the Soviet atheist ideology dampened religious practice in the region.^[16]

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the re-establishment of Georgia's independence first led to an Islamic revival.^[21] However, after Abashidze took control of the region he erased Adjara's Muslim identity and promoted conversion to Christianity.^[21][26] Since then, Christianity has experienced a strong growth in Adjara, especially among the young.^[51][52] However, there still remain Sunni Muslim communities in Adjara, mainly in the Khulo district.^[51] The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs is active in Adjara.^[53] According to Ghia Nodia, "most Acharans are Muslims but they consider themselves ethnic Georgians".^[54]

According to the 2014 Georgian national census, 54.5% of the population of Adjara was Georgian Orthodox, 39.8% Muslim, 0.3% Armenian Apostolic, and 5.3% others.^{[lower-alpha 2][50]}

Selimoba

Selimoba is held in the village of Bako, Khulo Municipality on June 3 and commemorates the life of Selim Khimshiashvili. A concert with the participation of local amateur groups of a folk handicraft products exhibition is held during the festival. It is supported by Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Adjara.^[55]

Shuamtoba

Shuamtoba ("inter-mountain festival") is a traditional festival, which is held on the summer mountain pastures of two municipalities (Khulo and Shuakhevi), during the first weekend of every August. Horse racing, a folk handicraft exhibition and a concert involving folk ensembles are held as well.

Machakhloba

Machakhloba is a Machakhela gorge festivity, held in the second half of September. It is a traditional holiday celebrated in Machakhela gorge, Khelvachauri Municipality. The festival begins at the Machakhela rifle monument (at the point of convergence of the rivers Machakhela and Chorokhi), continues in the village Machakhispiri and ends in the village Zeda Chkhutuneti.^[56]

Kolkhoba

Kolkhoba is an ancient Laz festival. It is held at the end of August or at the beginning of September in Sarpi village, Khelvachauri District. The story of the Argonauts is performed on stage during the festival.^[57]